Methods and devices of the above named type are known from the related art. The use of high voltage and currents in vehicles that have an electric motor as drive device, especially so-called electric vehicles, encompassing only one or more electric motors as drive devices, increases the risk for the user and operator of the vehicle. Especially the charging process is a hazard. Due to unsafe conditions during the charging process of the vehicle using an external energy source, for example at a charging station, a critical situation may arise for example if the vehicle rolls away or the charging process is faulty. The likelihood of errors rises with increasing charging time.
In order to avoid or control such critical situations, current approaches provide for all control units to be operated in fully active mode during the charging process, in order to capture any error conditions and to maintain the vehicle in a safe condition. This has the disadvantage of high energy consumption required for the fully active control units as well as the greatly increased demands on the life of control units and components, which are now operated and therefore strained also during the charging process. Overall, this increases costs, especially maintenance costs, as well as the environmental pollution caused by the vehicle.